Hermann Kouao scored twice in two minutes to earn Egyptian club Smouha a 3-2 triumph over Moroccan side Moghreb Tetouan at the weekend in an African Champions League matchday 1 thriller.
Tetouan raced into a two-goal lead after just 11 minutes of the Group A clash in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
But Smouha halved the deficit midway through the second half before Ivorian Kouao struck on 78 and 79 minutes for a memorable victory.
The clash of two group debutants completed the first series of last-eight mini-league matches in the marquee African club football competition.
Four-time champions TP Mazembe were surprisingly held 0-0 in DR Congo by Sudanese Al Hilal in the other Group A game.
Title-holders ES Setif slumped 2-1 at home against fellow Algerian side USM Alger in the main Group B attraction.
Sudanese Al Merrikh triumphed 2-0 at home to the third Algerian club in Group B, MC El Eulma.
Each club play their three opponents at home and away and group winners and runners-up advance to the semi-finals of a competition offering a $1.5 million (Dh5.5m) first prize.
Smouha and Tetouan were not expected to reach the eight-club group stage of the Champions League.
The Egyptian side upset former CAF title winners Enyimba of Nigeria and Congo’s AC Leopards in the qualifiers.
Nigeria’s Kano Pillars and record 19 CAF title winners Al Ahly, of Cairo, were among the victims of Tetouan.
Senegalese Mourtada Fall put the Moroccan outfit ahead after six minutes of a match staged behind closed doors because of ongoing post-Arab Spring security concerns.
But his tap-in goal was controversial with suspicions of offside and handball.
There was no doubt over the second goal, though, as Ahmed Jahouh gave goalkeeper Al Mahdy Soliman no chance with a sizzling long-range shot.
The visitors were dominant and could have doubled their two-goal advantage by half-time against their rattled rivals.
Trailing 2-0 was hard for Smouha to digest as they had not conceded a goal at home in qualifiers against Libyan side Al Ahly Tripoli, Enyimba and Leopards.
A half-time tongue-lashing from Smouha coach Mimi Abdel-Razak – standing in for recently-sacked Helmy Toulan – and smart substitutions turned the tide.
A weak Salah Amin shot found the net before Kouao levelled from close range, then won the game with a far-post header off a millimetre-perfect cross.
Hilal came close to winning away in the group stage for the first time with veteran Mazembe goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba making several acrobatic late saves.
The best chance for the Congolese side came on 75 minutes in mining city Lubumbashi when unmarked Ivorian Roger Assale headed wide from point-blank range.
Matchday 2 fixtures are scheduled for July 10-12.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
RESULT
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